Sam Gejdenson: “I think there is one fact that cannot be argued here. If the Smith amendment wins, as well-intentioned as it is, there…”

“I think there is one fact that cannot be argued here. If the Smith amendment wins, as well-intentioned as it is, there will be more abortions because every time we shut down a family planning project we end up with unwanted pregnancies, and the only alternative we are going to leave for these women are abortions. In many instances not only will the fetus die, the mother will die because they do not have the kind of conditions that a safe abortion can be performed in. So my colleagues can be on lots of sides on the issue of abortion, but they cannot argue with one central fact here: If the Smith amendment wins, women will die, and more abortions will occur because when we take away the choice of family planning, when we reduce the leverage of the dollars we have that provide for education and family planning, contraceptives and other methods of reducing the need for abortion and reducing unwanted pregnancies, we end up with one unarguable fact, that the number of abortions worldwide will increase.”